Leo the Great and St. Peter's Basilica

November 10 is the Feast of Pope Saint Leo I, also known as Leo the Great. Two weeks ago today we started our day with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the tomb of Leo the Great.

This was a very special experience. My favorite time at St. Peter's is right when it opens at 7am. There are very few people there, and everyone is reverent and quiet because this is the time for Mass. We came here for morning Mass twice, once with the whole FOCUS group where we had Mass down in the crypt by the tomb of St. Peter, and the second time at the tomb of Leo the Great.

St. Peter's in the early morning hours

As we walked into St. Peter's when they opened the doors, there were already Priests at the side altars offering Mass. We waited by the Sacristy for the two Priests in our group, and then they took us to the tomb of Leo the Great.

Waiting at the Sacristy before Mass starts

There were less than 15 of us at Mass and during the homily Father Scott explained the magnificent sculpture above the tomb. Pope Saint Leo I was Pope from 440-461 and was the first Pope to be called "the Great." As the sculpture shows, he is famous for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back and stopping his invasion of Italy.

The carved marble altarpiece above the tomb of Leo the Great

Here is a description of the sculpture above St. Leo's tomb from a Guide to St. Peter's Basilica: "Above the altar where he is buried, there is a majestic, high-relief marble portrait of Leo the Great as he met Attila the Hun, the scourge of god, near Mantua. The Pope's words were convincing, Attila was persuaded not to attack Rome. He told his troops that when the Pope spoke he saw the threatening figures of Peter and Paul with drawn swords before him. The sculpture was done by Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654) and is the only high relief of this type in the Basilica." 

St. Peter's Basilica is definitely one of my favorite places in the world. Everything is so magnificent, so huge, so beautiful! I think I like it because it makes me feel small and realize how we are not made for this world but made to be in Heaven with our loving Father!

We were able to come to Saint Peter's Basilica many times. One afternoon Tyler had a meeting and I went by myself to pray in the basilica. On the right hand side next to the tomb of Pope John Paul II there is an adoration chapel and next to that there is a large space blocked off for confessions. This is a beautiful witness of how this basilica is still a working church, even though thousands of tourists come here everyday.

Priest saying Mass at tomb of Blessed John XXIII

One of my favorite places in St. Peter's is the tomb of Blessed John XXIII. Here is an excerpt from "The New Saint Peter's" about the mosaic above his tomb. "Above the altar at the end of the aisle we see a mosaic copy of the famous painting by Domenichino (1581-1641), the Viaticum of Saint Jerome. The aged saint receives communion from Saint Ephrem in the monastery of Bethlehem. Kneeling in the act of kissing the hand of the dying man is the profile of Saint Paula of Rome, one of the great Biblical scholar's favorite disciples."

Altar of Saint Gregory the Great

Another favorite is the Altar of Saint Gregory the Great. "Beneath the altar lies a white marble sarcophagus containing the relics of Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604), Doctor of the Church. He was the first Pope to adopt the title "servant of the servants of God." The mosaic altarpiece representing The Miracle of St. Gregory dates from 1772. It was inspired from an original painting by Andrea Sacchi dated 1627. Here the Holy Pope is depicted in the act of cutting a linen cloth that had been on St. Peter's tomb which suddenly bled." (saintpetersbasilica.org)